There is a new label that the Terryville High wrestling team will have to carry this season — favorite.

For years, the Kangaroos have been the hard-working, scrappy underdogs trying to wrest a championship away from Nonnewaug, which has won nine of the last 11 Berkshire League championships.

This year, the Kangaroos are the early favorite to win the Berkshire League championship in wrestling. Not only can Terryville put out a wrestler in all 14 weight classes, but it returns four defending league champions who finished third in their respective weight classes at last year's Class S tournament.

There are really just two BL schools fielding full teams this season — Terryville and Nonnewaug — but a majority of the Chiefs' lineup is inexperienced at the varsity level. Housatonic and Gilbert have decent-size squads, but they have several gaps in their lineups and don't look to be able to compete with Terryville or Nonnewaug.

Thomaston and Northwestern will be focused on individual achievements this season. Thomaston has just eight wrestlers in the program while Northwestern has fewer than that.

In a recent dual meet against Housatonic, the Highlanders sent out just four wrestlers.

See WRESTLING, Page 5C

Last year, Terryville (6-0, 1-0 BL) won its first Berkshire League tournament title since 1987 with five individual champions and 11 finalists. This year, the Kangaroos want to win their first BL regular season title since 1989.

"Our No. 1 goal is to win the Berkshire League and then take the dual meets one at a time," longtime Terryville coach Peter Veleas said. "The middle of our lineup is pretty tough."

All four won BL titles, finished third in Class S and won at least 20 matches.

Senior Joe Bellmay (152) won 23 matches a year ago while senior Dan Folino (145) won 22 in the regular season.

"The key is to keep improving," Veleas said. "I am always on them to maintain good position (on the mat). They don't do it all the time."

Nonnewaug (2-0, 1-0 BL) is led by two returning veterans — junior John D'Agostino (170), who won a BL title and finished second in Class S last year, and junior Albi Cekicki, who finished sixth in Class S at 182 pounds. But the Chiefs lost eight seniors. While the rest of the team is inexperienced at the varsity level, many have been on the mat before.

Seniors Jacob Tracy (138), Brian Bowyer (220) and Josh Zitnay (285) will be leaned on for experience and leadership. The big match with Terryville will be Jan. 16 in Plymouth at 6:30 p.m.

Housatonic, Thomaston and Gilbert do have some talented wrestlers — just not enough of them to threaten Terryville or Nonnewaug from a team perspective.

No BL-NVL talks: A vote that would allow the Berkshire League to approach the Naugatuck Valley League and discuss options to come together in wrestling failed in a vote by BL athletic directors last March.

The NVL currently has three teams with wrestling programs — Derby, Seymour and Holy Cross.

"We respect our friends in the NVL, but the BL decided it wasn't the right time to approach them," said Dan Carroll, the current chair of the Berkshire League.

Carroll added the proposal to speak with the NVL may come up again this spring after the season is concluded at a meeting of the BL athletic directors. The lack of wrestlers has been a concern in the BL.

A year ago, the field in the Berkshire League tournament was shallow. Four of the 14 weight classes had just three wrestlers competing. Gilbert, Housatonic and Thomaston entered just seven varsity wrestlers in 14 weight classes while Northwestern had just three wrestlers in the tournament.

This year, Terryville and Nonnewaug have full squads. Housatonic and Gilbert have significant gaps in their lineups with four or five forfeits each night. Thomaston and Northwestern have fewer than eight wrestlers each on their respective squads.

Having the five BL teams and three NVL teams compete in one wrestling league would give the three NVL schools additional dual meets, a league championship to shoot for and help make the BL tournament a more competitive event with more athletes participating —up to eight in each weight class.

It is not unusual for schools from different leagues to work together to form a league.

In football, the 30-year-old Pequot Conference is comprised of 22 schools from Berkshire League, the NCCC and the Shoreline Conference. In the 1980s, girls soccer programs from the NVL and Berkshire League got together to form the Western Connecticut Girls Soccer League.

But until the BL athletic directors permit league representatives to discuss possibilities with the NVL, the idea is just a thought.

Around the mat: Due to the tragic events in Newtown at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 26 students and teachers were killed by a gunman Dec. 14, the Pomperaug Holiday Tournament was cancelled. Pomperaug coach Mike O'Keefe has dozens of trophies, hot dogs and other food that couldn't be used. But he never hesitated on the call. "It was the right thing to do," he said simply. ... Seymour finished fifth in the recent Husky Holiday Classic at Morgan in Clinton. Xavier Vidal (126) finished second while Joe Augustitus (106), Shane Christianson (132) and Brendan Rooney (138) each finished third. For Wolcott Tech, Eric Zenobia (145) and Dustin Chang (195) each finished second. Chang dropped a 9-7 decision in the final to Suffield High's Will Szozda. Northwestern's Joseph Pedrolini (106) finished second, too.

Cheshire finished second in its first tournament of the season at the Fairfield Ludlowe Invitational with five individual champions and seven finalists. Lucas Swan (126), Jacob Cervero (132), Dan Massucci (138), Josh Hunihan (160) and Gabe Vega (170) won their respective weight classes while Joe Villano (106) and Steve Bergeron (145) each finished second. With four champions and nine finalists, Fairfield Ludlowe won with 301 points, with the Rams scoring 244½. For Cheshire, it was its best finish in a tournament since taking third at the Centaur Invitational at Woodstock Academy in 2010.

Gerry deSimas, Jr. is the founder and editor of Connecticut Wrestling Online. Reach him at Ctwrestling7@yahoo.com.

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